Everywhere I look I see miracles. For most of my life till adulthood I lived in Florida. Due to the fair skinned nature that I was born with I have not always enjoyed the outside or the sun. Yes, I know it is beautiful, but the heat has kept me inside. Lately though, in an effort to get fit, I have taken up walking several times a day, throughout the day. Morning, afternoon, and evening. There was something I was missing by not getting out for all of those years. So many miracles and beautiful things.

In the morning, I hear the birds singing such a sweet song. And each bird makes unique music that’s so lovely. It is amazing to think that no one else is walking at that moment or noticing the beauty of that song but I got to hear it. In those moments I know but that sweet melody is a miracle, and it was just for me. What a blessing! That little bird, surviving in our suburban jungle, still thriving, and singing. What a testimony a beautiful witness.

The bees buzz around in the flowers beside the sidewalk. Even more amazing are the little flowers or weeds really that grow and offer their loveliness to me as I walk on my way. What a miracle! In the afternoon the dragonflies hover in large groups, looking beautiful and reminding me of what they represent change and transformation period they represent adaptability and self-realization. Speaking of transformation, I see butterflies as well. Small white ones, once with bright colors, all of them flitting among the gardens and plants that I walk by. Even the vision of the wind blowing through the trees and the vegetation is just stunning. Everywhere I look when I go on my walks, I see miracles. Yes, I recognize the blessings that I receive from the sight of all of the beauty of nature around me is truly a miracle.

Not only is this sight of all that I see a miracle, not only is the sound of nature beautiful to take in, but there are other amazing things. Other blessings and miracles in nature around me. One of them is the lovely aromas that I get to smell. I walked by a few rose bushes, in bloom the fragrance waves towards you so pleasing. Honeysuckles grow on a gate I walk past, the sweet fragrance is a gift to me, a gift that I receive that by so many others goes completely unnoticed. That’s the amazing thing all of these things that I see, that I smell, and that I hear oftentimes goes unnoticed by everyone else in the world around me. Only a few get to receive these blessings. Why is that? I’ll get to that in a minute.

Because I don’t want to forget to mention the other miracles I see such as the sun rises, the amazing cloud sculptures which appear as luminous structures in the sky, the gentle breeze that comes just at the right time, and the shade trees that offer a reprieve from the heat of the day. So many miracles I see everywhere on my walking adventures.

I know for many people they see other beautiful, lovely things. They are walking in the different places then I’m walking geographically. They may see pristine white snow-covered landscapes, mountain streams and waterfalls, fall colors painting the world around them with absolute loveliness, hummingbirds, seagulls, the vast dynamic ocean, and the amazingly endless and ever-changing night sky. So much beauty in the world around us whether it’s through the sights or the sounds or the smells or the experiences we can have in it, so many miracles and blessings. Yet we miss so much of those blessings and miracles because we are in a hurry.

See that’s why, we miss it in our rush to just get through life. What a great tragedy that we miss blessings that are just there for the taking if we only choose to receive them, to take the time to receive them. I have heard it said “take time to smell the roses”. Yes, stop and take time to enjoy the loveliness in nature around you, in your unique nature around you. Wherever you live there are things that are beautiful whether it’s the night sky, the beauty of the morning, and the vegetation that fights to grow in rough places. I challenge you to take notice today. Miracles and blessings are everywhere, and you just have to see it, feel it, observe it, and look around a bit. Stop and take it in. It’s for you a blessing.

For me these are reminders of the God who made all of it, who cares for it, who longs to redeem it and bring it back into perfection again. He delights in it, and we should delight in it also. Looking at nature should remind us of him. So, get out and look around, rest in the tranquility of the beauty wherever you are in the nature around you.

Now I know what you’re thinking, is this biblical? Does this really matter for believers? Yes, it does. Job 12:7 through 10 declares that the beasts and birds teach us. That the bushes/the plants and even fish teach us. It’s declares “in his hand is a life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” In Psalms 175: 5 it says” on the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.” Or in Psalms 8:3 through 4 “when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him.” You see these amazing miracles are a testimony of God’s amazing love for all of us. That the God who would take such care to make such beauty for our enjoyment and delight would still care for us. It’s an astounding mystery, something that’s hard to even fathom but when we look around us we are reminded of how terribly small, we are and how amazing it is that our great God would love us even though we’re so insignificant. Like the grass of the field here today gone tomorrow yet he loves us. Each one of us.

It is true as it says in Revelations 4:11, “Worthy are you, oh Lord and God, to receive glory and honor, and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed, and were created.” He created it all to teach us, to show us, to delight us, so let’s be consumers in a new way. Let us consume through our senses the beauty around us. Let us see the miracles and the blessings he’s created us for what they are. Let us learn from nature the lessons of provision and God’s amazing design.

It’s a choice to see the miracles, and I hope you take the opportunities to choose to change your point of view. The miracles and the blessings are there for you if you let yourself receive them today.